DUBAI - The Qatar Investment Authority is seriously considering making a bid to take over OMX, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani said on Tuesday.
Asked by CNBC television whether Qatar was planning to buy the whole of the Nordic and Baltic exchange owner, Sheikh Hamad said: "I cannot say yes or no now, but we are thinking about this seriously and ... you know there are a lot of complications in it. But, yes we are looking."
Qatar files OMX document and raises chance of bid war
STOCKHOLM - Qatar on Tuesday filed for regulatory approval to take a bigger stake in OMX and said it was considering taking over the Nordic firm, raising the prospect of a bidding war with Dubai and its ally Nasdaq.
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has previously said it controlled 9.98 percent of OMX shares, just below the 10 percent threshold at which the regulator must approve ownership.
Raising the stakes further, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, who also heads the QIA, said it was a serious possibility, though fraught with complications.
"I cannot say yes or no now but we are thinking about this seriously and ... you know there are a lot of complications in it but yes we are looking," he said, when asked by CNBC television whether Qatar wanted to buy the whole of OMX.
Qatar started acquiring stock in the Nordic and Baltic exchange owner just after Borse Dubai and U.S. exchange Nasdaq announced they were teaming up to buy OMX.
Earlier on Tuesday a Swedish regulator said the Qatar Investment Authority had filed for approval to own a significant stake in OMX.
Sweden's Financial Services Authority requires firms to request approval for owning more than 10 percent in companies deemed strategically important. If a firm is approved as being suitable to have significant influence in the company, it can own any amount of stock.
"If you are fit and proper to own 10 percent, obviously you can't not be fit and proper to own 50 percent or 70 percent or 100 percent," said Helena Ostman, spokesman for the FSA.
OMX, as the owner of Sweden's stock exchange, is considered vital to the functioning of the local financial system.
Sheikh Hamad said Qatar's overtures had not got "any negative reception" from OMX, though it was still early days.
"We are still doing our homework on it. In due time we will announce our position," he told CNBC in an interview.
"First of all, we are investing in them because we believe in them and the second thing is to upgrade our system," he said, explaining that Doha needed to attach itself to successful stock exchanges if it was to quickly improve its own markets.
BIDDING WAR
State-run Borse Dubai last week said it owned 47.6 percent of OMX after it increased its cash offer to 265 Swedish crowns per share from 230 crowns, valuing the bid at about $4.9 billion, up from just under $4 billion.
Borse Dubai's chief executive Per Larsson later told Reuters he expected to cross the 50 percent barrier "fairly soon."
Shares in OMX were up 2.4 percent at 282.50 crowns at 1115 GMT, indicating the market believes a counterbid by Qatar is possible.
OMX spokesman Jonas Rodny said the firm had no information about the matter and was not aware of Qatar's intentions.
Both Qatar and Dubai want to create a financial hub in the Middle East. Nasdaq's goal is to gain a significant foothold in Europe to capitalize on upcoming regulatory changes which are likely to transform the exchange landscape in the region.
If it acquires OMX, Borse Dubai will transfer the firm to Nasdaq in exchange for 20 percent of the combined group as part of a complex tie-up. OMX's board has recommended the Borse Dubai offer.
The Swedish government owns 6.6 percent of OMX, but it has not said how it views the Borse Dubai/Nasdaq offer other than that it is an "interesting" proposal.
Financial Markets Minister Mats Odell has said the government will take a view in good time before the Borse Dubai bid concludes, which he expects could be around January.
STOCKHOLM - The Qatar Investment Authority wants Sweden's regulator to speed up a decision on its suitability as an owner of OMX so it comes at the same time as a ruling on rival Borse Dubai, daily Dagens Industri wrote in its Internet edition on Tuesday.
Quoting from Qatar's approval application, the newspaper said that failure to give a judgment about its and Dubai's suitability as owners of OMX at the same time would disadvantage OMX shareholders.
"Qatar Holdings ability to buy shares in OMX can be affected seriously negatively and to the detriment of OMX shareholders if Qatar Holdings does not get a decision from the Financial Services Authority at the same time as Borse Dubai does," the paper quoted the document saying.
Earlier in the day the QIA, through its Qatar Holding subsidiary, applied for approval to raise its stake in OMX to over 10 percent.
Borse Dubai has teamed up with U.S. exchange group Nasdaq in a bid for OMX, and the two groups said last week they controlled 47.6 percent of the Nordic firm, after raising their bid to 265 crowns per share.
Borse Dubai and Nasdaq have already sought approval for ownership of OMX.
Qatar has said it owns 9.98 percent of OMX shares.
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